Ferguson Activist Claims Her Son, Danye Jones, Was Lynched

Danye Jones, a prominent Ferguson activist, was found dead last month and his mother wants answers.

She believes Danye was lynched.

What happened to Danye Jones

Melissa McKinnies discovered her 24-year-old son hanging from a tree by a bed sheet in her backyard on October 17.

McKinnies uploaded now-deleted graphic images of his body to Facebook that week, demanding answers. The images quickly circulated online along with the hashtag #DanyeJones.

Investigation

Police in Ferguson said Wednesday evening that they are investigating Jones’ death as a suicide, the River Front Times reported.

They reported no evidence of foul play and said Jones’ body was no longer hanging when officers arrived at the scene.

Danye Jones mother believes he was lynched

McKinnes is vehemently standing behind the lynching claim, arguing that suicide would have been out of Jones character.

Deaths of other Ferguson activists

Due to the suspicious deaths of other Ferguson activists, McKinnies believes she may be on to something.

Not more than two years after the shooting death of Michael Brown, three Ferguson activists were found dead : Edward Crawford in 2017, Darren Seals in 2016, and DeAndre Joshua in 2014.

DeAndre Joshua and Darren Seals

In 2014, on the night that the verdict in Michael Brown’s death came down, DeAndre Joshua’s body was found burning in a car with a gunshot wound to the head.

Two years later, Darren Seals, a Ferguson-based activist, was also found in a burning car dead with two gunshot wounds to the head.

Police continue to investigate both men’s deaths.

Edward Crawford

In May 2017, Edward Crawford, seen throwing a police tear-gas canister in a now-iconic photo from the Ferguson protests, was found dead in his car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His father told reporters he believed his son may have accidentally shot himself, but said investigators had given him few details. Police told NBC News that “Crawford shot himself in the backseat of a car while it was moving, according to two witnesses who were seated in the front of the car.”

Now Danye Jones becomes the fourth.

For her part, McKinnies says she won’t let her son’s death stop her from fighting for the community.

“4:51 a.m. and sick with grief but ready to get up and fight for my baby,” she wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday morning.

A GoFund Me page has been set up to help with Danye Jones funeral expenses.